It is known that lasers can drill or burn very small holes at precise locations in sheets of material. These characteristics can be used, for example, for the formation of holes in ceramic green sheets, which are thin layers of unfired ceramic material which form the structural basis for electronic modules. The holes in the ceramic green sheets are used to form via paths from one surface to the other for electrical interconnections between adjacent green sheets. Sometimes it is necessary to align a hole extending through a plurality of such sheets in order to provide an electrically conductive path from one sheet to a sheet which is displaced by several sheets and sheet thicknesses from the first sheet. To accomplish this assembly, the holes must be perpendicular to the green sheet surface and must be accurate to a very high degree, such as to within approximately 5 um in location on the green sheet. These requirements are dictated by the fact that the holes must accurately align with similar holes on adjacent sheets. The telecentricity of the lens also helps to minimize the magnification shift with respect to shifts in focal plane. The location of the holes on the green sheets may be controlled by a system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,168,454, issued to Mark J. LaPlante, et al., and assigned to the International Business Machines Corporation, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The lens disclosed in the LaPlante, et al. patent is a flat field lens. The LaPlante, et al. system may be substantially improved by the use of a telecentric lens such as the subject of this invention. As discussed in LaPlante, et al., the materials processed by the lens in this patent are not limited to green sheets.